Paddling in Gheebulum Kunungai (Moreton Island) National Park

Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) sits in Moreton Bay, about 40 kilometres northeast of Brisbane, and nearly the entire island — 98% of it — falls within Gheebulum Kunungai National Park.

The paddling here is coastal and flatwater: open bay crossings, sheltered beach launches, and the island's freshwater lagoons and creeks. There are no rivers in the whitewater sense.

What draws paddlers is the combination of calm inshore water, sand-island geography, and the relative wildness of a place that is genuinely hard to reach without a ferry or barge. Blue Lagoon is the clearest focal point for on-island paddling.

This freshwater lagoon sits amid coastal heathland and is explicitly suited to kayaking and paddleboarding — calm, clear, and swimmable. Getting there requires either a walk or a 4WD track, so paddlers typically carry or cart a small craft.

The lagoon rewards the effort: the water is clean and the setting is unlike anything on the mainland side of the bay.

Beyond Blue Lagoon, the island's beaches — both the western bay-facing shore and the exposed eastern ocean beach — provide launch points for sea kayaking in Moreton Bay itself.

The western side is more sheltered; the eastern beaches face the open Pacific and demand appropriate conditions and experience.

Because the park covers nearly all of Mulgumpin, paddlers are operating inside protected land and water for most of their time on the island.

Camping is permitted in designated sites and beach zones, and permits are required — check with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) for current requirements before you go.

Access to the island itself comes via the Tangalooma passenger ferry from Pinkenba or a vehicle barge from the Port of Brisbane; there are no road connections to the mainland.

Humpback whales move through the surrounding bay waters between May and November, and turtles and dolphins are present in the bay year-round.

On the water, that's not background noise — it's the reason to pay attention to where you're paddling and how close you get.